System, method and apparatus for tracking parking behavior of a vehicle

ABSTRACT

A system, method and apparatus for tracking the parking behavior of a vehicle. In one aspect, the method comprises: a) recording an address associated with a person to whom possession of a vehicle has been provided, b) detecting when the vehicle transitions between a parked state and a non-parked state, and measuring a time duration each time the vehicle is in a parked state; c) for each time duration that exceeds a predetermined minimum time threshold, storing parking information data including a geographic location of the vehicle as a parking instance; d) for a predetermined initial time period subsequent to the person taking possession of the vehicle, comparing, the geographic locations of the parking instances to the associated address; and e) upon determining that none of the geographic locations of the parking instances determined during the predetermined initial time period correspond with the associated address, generating an alert.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 13/185,082, filed on Jul. 18, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,612,137, theentirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a system, method andapparatus for tracking the parking behavior of a vehicle, and morespecifically to a system, method and apparatus for using historicalvehicle parking behavior to predict a future location of the vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The purchase of personal property, and specifically vehicles such asautomobiles, motorcycles and boats, is generally accomplished by theconsumer financing the purchase through a personal loan system. In sucha circumstance, the purchaser borrows money from a financial or lendinginstitution, takes title to the vehicle and pays the loan balance inmonthly installments, which amortize the full amount of the loan. Thefinancial institution typically retains a lien interest against thetitle of the vehicle and the loan is secured by a chattel mortgagethereon. Thus, the vehicle is used as collateral for the loan. Thefinancial institution may confiscate or repossess the vehicle upon adefault condition of the loan, as agreed to by the purchaser or asprovided at law. However, due to the mobile nature of a vehicle, it isoften difficult for the financial institution to locate a vehicle forrepossession. To make it even more difficult, when a purchaser of avehicle knows he is in default of the loan, the purchaser will attemptto evade repossession of the vehicle by storing the vehicle in locationsthat are unbeknownst to the financial institution.

When a purchaser who is in default evades repossession of the vehicle,the repossession process can become quite costly for the financial orlending institution. Specifically, the financial or lending institutionwill have to hire a third party repossession agent and/or aninvestigative service agency to assist in locating and recovering thevehicle.

Devices have been designed and deployed to assist financial or lendinginstitutions with the repossession of personal property such asvehicles. Most of these devices are electronic devices that are affixedto the vehicle to act as a homing beacon or GPS module. Thus, whenevervehicle repossession is deemed necessary, the homing device can beactivated or the GPS module used to determine a present location of thecollateral. However, this methodology is expensive and completelyineffective if, for instance, the purchaser of the vehicle removes ordisables the device.

Furthermore, when a purchaser of a vehicle knows at the time of purchasethat he will likely be unable to make the monthly payments, thepurchaser may make the purchase fraudulently. Specifically, thepurchaser may provide the financial or lending institution with anincorrect personal address in order to further evade repossession of thevehicle upon default.

Thus, a need exists for a system, method and/or apparatus to assist thefinancial or lending institution in locating a vehicle for repossessionafter the vehicle owner defaults on the loan payments. Furthermore, aneed also exists for a system, method and/or apparatus to assist withfraud prevention in the purchase and sale of personal property such asvehicles.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a system, method and apparatus fortracking the parking behavior and trends of a vehicle. In one aspect,the invention can be an apparatus for tracking parking behavior of avehicle, the apparatus comprising: a circuit located locally within thevehicle, the circuit comprising a processor, movement detection meansfor detecting whether the vehicle is in a parked state or a non-parkedstate, location identification means for identifying a geographiclocation of the vehicle, a memory, a transceiver, and a timer operablycoupled together; wherein for each occurrence in which the movementdetection means detects that the vehicle has entered into the parkedstate, the circuit is configured to: (1) measure a duration that thevehicle remains in the parked state; (2) identify the geographiclocation of the vehicle; (3) detect whether the vehicle transitions intothe non-parked state from the parked state; and (4) upon the durationexceeding a predetermined minimum time threshold without the vehicletransitioning into the non-parked state, store parking information datarelating to the occurrence in the memory as a parking instance.

In another aspect, the invention can be a method of tracking parkingbehavior of a vehicle comprising: a) detecting whether the vehicle hasentered into a parked state; b) upon detecting that the vehicle hasentered in the parked state, measuring a duration that the vehicleremains in the parked state; c) monitoring whether the vehicletransitions from the parked state to a non parked state; d) comparingthe duration that the vehicle is in the parked state to a predeterminedminimum time threshold; and e) upon the duration exceeding thepredetermined minimum time threshold, storing parking information dataas a parking instance in a local memory located within the vehicle, orupon the duration failing to exceed the predetermined minimum timethreshold, discarding the parking information data.

In yet another aspect, the invention can be a method of detecting fraudby a purchaser of a vehicle comprising: a) recording the purchaser'saddress; b) detecting whether the vehicle has entered into a parkedstate; c) upon detecting that the vehicle has entered into the parkedstate, measuring a duration that the vehicle remains in the parkedstate; d) monitoring whether the vehicle transitions from the parkedstate to a non-parked state; e) comparing the duration that the vehicleis in the parked state to a predetermined minimum time threshold; f)upon the duration exceeding the predetermined minimum time threshold,storing parking information data including a geographic location of thevehicle as a parking instance in a local memory located within thevehicle; and g) comparing the geographic location of the vehicle withthe purchaser's address.

In a further aspect, the invention can be a method of detecting fraud bya purchaser of a vehicle comprising: a) recording a residence addressprovided by the purchaser of the vehicle; b) detecting whether thevehicle has entered into a parked state; c) upon detecting that thevehicle has entered into the parked state, measuring a duration that thevehicle remains in the parked state; d) comparing the duration that thevehicle is in the parked state to a predetermined minimum timethreshold; e) upon the duration exceeding the predetermined minimum timethreshold without the vehicle transitioning from the parked state to anon-parked state, storing parking information data including ageographic location of the vehicle as a parking instance; and f)comparing the geographic location of the vehicle with the residenceaddress; and wherein at least one of steps a) through f) is carried outby a processor.

In a still further aspect, the invention can be a method of trackingparking behavior of a vehicle comprising: a) recording an addressassociated with a person to whom possession of a vehicle has beenprovided, the vehicle being collateral for a loan; b) detecting when thevehicle transitions between a parked state and a non-parked state, andmeasuring a time duration each time the vehicle is detected to be in aparked state; c) for each of the time durations that exceed apredetermined minimum time threshold, storing parking information dataincluding a geographic location of the vehicle as a parking instance;and d) for a predetermined initial time period subsequent to the persontaking possession of the vehicle, comparing the geographic locations ofthe parking instances to the associated address; and e) upon determiningthat none of the geographic locations of the parking instancesdetermined during the predetermined initial time period correspond withthe associated address, generating an alert.

In an even further aspect, the invention can be a method of trackingparking behavior of a vehicle comprising: a) recording, an addressassociated with a person to whom possession of a vehicle has beenprovided, the vehicle being collateral for a loan; b) subsequent to theperson taking possession of the vehicle, detecting whether the vehiclehas entered into a parked state; c) for each instance that the vehiclehas entered into the parked state, measuring a time duration that thevehicle remains in the parked state without transitioning into anon-parked state; d) for each of the time durations that exceeds apredetermined minimum time threshold, storing parking information dataincluding a geographic location of the vehicle; e) comparing each of thegeographic locations of the vehicle stored in step d) with theassociated address; and wherein at least one of steps a) through e iscarried out by a computer device.

Further areas of applicability of the present invention will becomeapparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It shouldbe understood that the detailed description and specific examples, whileindicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended forpurposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope ofthe invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features of the exemplified embodiments will be described withreference to the following drawings in which like elements are labeledsimilarly.

The present invention will become more fully understood from thedetailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of an apparatus located within avehicle for tracking parking behavior of the vehicle in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an overall block diagram of a vehicle tracking system inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the various components of areport in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for a method of tracking parking behavior of avehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5A is a representation of a graphical user interface organizingparking trends by duration in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5B is a representation of the graphical user interface of FIG. 5Aorganizing parking trends by location; and

FIG. 5C is a representation of the graphical user interface of FIG. 5Aorganizing parking trends by time.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merelyexemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention,its application, or uses.

The description of illustrative embodiments according to principles ofthe present invention is intended to be read in connection with theaccompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entirewritten description. In the description of embodiments of the inventiondisclosed herein, any reference to direction or orientation is merelyintended for convenience of description and is not intended in any wayto limit the scope of the present invention. Relative terms such as“lower,” “upper,” “horizontal,” “vertical,” “above,” “below,” “up,”“down,” “top” and “bottom” as well as derivative thereof (e.g.,“horizontally,” “downwardly,” “upwardly,” etc.) should be construed torefer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawingunder discussion. These relative terms are for convenience ofdescription only and do not require that the apparatus be constructed oroperated in a particular orientation unless explicitly indicated assuch. Terms such as “attached,” “affixed,” “connected,” “coupled,”“interconnected,” and similar refer to a relationship wherein structuresare secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectlythrough intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigidattachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise.Moreover, the features and benefits of the invention are illustrated byreference to the exemplified embodiments. Accordingly, the inventionexpressly should not be limited to such exemplary embodimentsillustrating some possible non-limiting combination of features that mayexist alone or in other combinations of features; the scope of theinvention being defined by the claims appended hereto.

Referring first to FIG. 1, a device 100 for tracking the parkingbehavior of a vehicle is schematically illustrated. In the exemplifiedembodiment, the device 100 is illustrated located and installed within avehicle 101. Furthermore, in the exemplified embodiment the vehicle 101is illustrated as an automobile, such as a car. However, the inventionis not to be so limited and the vehicle 101 can be an automobile such asa car or truck, a motorcycle, a bicycle, a boat (including house boats),an airplane, a helicopter, a house trailer, a mobile home, arecreational vehicle, heavy machinery such as a tractor and other farmequipment or the like.

The device 100 generally comprises a circuit 130 that is located locallywithin the vehicle 101. In some embodiments, the circuit 130 may bedisposed within a housing 120 such that the device 100 is a unit that isseparate and distinct from, yet can be installed within, the vehicle101. However, in certain other embodiments the circuit 130 can beinstalled within the vehicle 101 without being contained within ahousing. The circuit 130 comprises a processor 110, an internal memory111, a receiver 112, a transmitter 113, a timer 114, movement detectionmeans 115, location identification means 116, a power supply 117 andexternal inputs 118 all operably coupled together.

The processor 110 may be any type of properly programmed processingdevice, such as a computer or microprocessor. The processor 110 isconfigured with specific algorithms to enable the device 100 to storeand organize the most common and lengthy stops (i.e., parked states)made by the vehicle 101. The processor 110 enables the device 100 toautomatically store and organize information related to the stops madeby the vehicle 101 and to then transmit that information to a server 140for further processing and storage in a database 160 for end user accessas will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 2. Morespecifically, the circuitry 130 constructs a virtual table or loginternally or locally in the device 100 that contains informationrelated to the stops made by the vehicle 101 and organizes thatinformation by longest duration to shortest duration. Furthermore, ifthe memory 111 of the device 100 is full, the device 100 will only storeinformation related to a new stop made by the vehicle 101 if theduration of the new stop is greater than the shortest duration stopcurrently stored in the memory 111 of the device 100. Thus, the device100 that is installed within the vehicle 101 (and more specifically thecircuit 130 that is located locally within the vehicle 101) caninternally store and organize the desired information prior totransmitting that information to the server 140 and database 160 for enduser access.

Each of the memory 111, the receiver 112, the transmitter 113, the timer114, the movement detection means 115, the location identification means116, the power supply 117 and the external inputs 118 are operablycoupled to the processor 110. Furthermore, each of the components isalso operably coupled to the power supply 117 so that the device 100 iscapable of operation even without operable connection to an externalpower source. The power supply 117 is preferably a rechargeable powersource such that the power supply 117 can be recharged by a battery 121of the vehicle 101 as needed. Furthermore, although the receiver 112 andthe transmitter 113 are illustrated as separate components, the receiver112 and the transmitter 113 can be collectively referred to as atransceiver that is capable of performing the functions of both thereceiver 112 and the transmitter 113.

In the exemplified embodiment, the external inputs 118 include a powerinput for operable coupling to the vehicle battery 121. Of course,additional external inputs can be included in the device 100 asnecessary to achieve additional functionality to the device 100 asdesired.

The movement detection means 115 is a means for detecting whether thevehicle 100 is in a parked state or a non-parked state. In theexemplified embodiment, the movement detection means 115 is an ignitioninput that is operably coupled to an ignition switch 122 of the vehicle101. However, the invention is not to be so limited and in certain otherembodiments the movement detection means 115 can be a GPS module or avehicle engine on/off detector, which will be described in detail below.

In the exemplified embodiment wherein the movement detection means 115is an ignition input, the ignition input enables the device 100 todetect if the vehicle 100 is stopped or moving based on the status ofthe vehicle ignition switch 122. More specifically, by connecting theignition input (i.e., movement detection means 115) of the device 100 tothe ignition switch 122 of the vehicle 101, the device 100 can detectthat the vehicle 101 is in a non-parked state when the ignition switch122 is turned on and that the vehicle 101 is in a parked or stoppedstate when the ignition switch 122 is turned off. In embodiments wherethe movement detection means 115 is a vehicle engine on/off detector,the movement detection means 115 operates in a similar manner.Specifically, utilizing a vehicle engine on/off detector, the device 100may detect whether the vehicle 101 is in a parked state or in anon-parked state by determining whether the vehicle engine is turned offor on. In this method, it is possible to detect if the vehicle 101 is ina parked or non-parked state based on the engine status; if the engineis on, the vehicle is in a non-parked state and if the engine is off,the vehicle is in a parked state. The device 100 is capable ofmonitoring the voltage level of the vehicle 101 electrical system at alltimes by virtue of the installation of the device 100 in the vehicle 101The device 100 can sense changes in the voltage level of the vehicleelectrical system to determine whether the vehicle 101 is in a moving orparked state.

Furthermore, in still other embodiments as noted above a GPS module canoperate as the movement detection means 115 to detect if the vehicle 101is in a parked or non-parked state. Specifically, the GPS module cancheck the vehicle's speed and location in resolutions of one second todetermine whether the vehicle 101 is in a moving or parked state.

Furthermore, in certain other embodiments the movement detection means115 can be a device that monitors the CAN-BUS line of the vehicle, whichis located on the OBDII connector. In such an embodiment, the devicewill be connected to the CAN-high and CAN-low wires of the vehicle, andwill read the data running on those wires, in one minute resolution.When the ignition switch is turned to its “on” position, datacommunication will run on the line. The device will detect the datacommunication running on the line as ignition on, which will indicatethat the vehicle is in a moving state. When the ignition switch isturned to its off position, no data is running on the wires. Thus, insuch a circumstance the device will detect that the ignition is off andthe vehicle is in a non-moving state.

In still another embodiment, the vehicle detection means 115 may be adevice that reads the odometer of the vehicle from the CAN-BUS line. Insuch an embodiment, the device will have the ability to read the amountof mileage accumulated during a specific trip. If no change in theodometer reading is detected for a predetermined or specified amount oftime, the device will consider the vehicle as being in a non-movingstate.

As used herein, the term parked state is used to refer to any point intime that the vehicle 101 within which the device 100 is positioned andinstalled is motionless. This includes periods of time When the vehicle101 engine is turned off such as being parked in a parking lot andperiods of time when the vehicle 101 engine is turned on but the vehicle101 is motionless, such as being stopped at a stop sign. However, aswill be understood from the description below, the device 100 isparticularly suited for tracking the parking behaviors and trends of thevehicle 101 over a period of time. This tracked parking behavior canthen be stored as parking instances or historical data in the database160 and used to predict where the vehicle 101 may be located at a futuredate and time. Thus, it is mainly desirable to determine when thevehicle is parked and turned of in order to determine locations that thevehicle 101 will be left for long periods of time. The ignition switch122/ignition input connection, engine on/off monitoring and/or the GPSmodule are three different methods that assist with making thisdetermination. Tracking locations where the vehicle 101 is parked forlong periods of time will assist with repossession by enabling therepossession agents to determine the most effective locations and timesto repossess the vehicle 100 while avoiding potential confrontation withthe vehicle 101 purchaser/owner.

Referring to FIGS, 1 and 2 concurrently, the invention will be describedin more detail. The circuit 130 comprises a location identificationmeans 116 for identifying a geographic location of the vehicle 101. Inthe exemplified embodiment, the location identification means 116 is aGPS module. However, the invention is not to be so limited and thelocation identification means can be an electric beacon such as a radio,infrared or sonar beacon. In certain embodiments, both the movementdetection means 115 and the location identification means 116 can be aGPS module. A GPS module can operate as the location identificationmeans by passively receiving signals from a satellite 126. Morespecifically, the satellite 126 transmits data that indicates thelocation of the device 100 (and hence also of the vehicle 101 withinwhich the device is installed) and the current time to the GPS module.This location and time data is then sent to the processor 110 and othercircuitry 130 for further processing.

The device 100 within the vehicle 101 also transmits data to andreceives data from the server 140. More specifically, the transmitter113 transmits data to the server 140 via a wireless carrier 125 using ageneral packet radio service (GPRS) protocol. The GPRS protocol enablesthe device 100 to package a set of data, regardless of content, type orstructure, and transmit it to the server 140 together as a singlepacket. Of course, the invention is not to be so limited and othertransmission protocols can be used for the transmission of data betweenthe server 140 and the device 100. The specific data transmitted fromthe transmitter 113 to the server 140 will be described in more detailbelow. Furthermore, the server 140 is also able to transmit data back tothe receiver 112 of the device 100. The server 140 is in communicationwith a computer 142 or other processor via the internet 141. Thus, auser, such as an operator of the server 140, can transmit data throughthe server 140 and to the device 100.

Examples of the types of data that may be transmitted from the server140 to the device 100 via the external computer 142 include certainconfigurable parameters that are programmed into the device 100. In theexemplified embodiment, there are three parameters that are programmedinto the device 100 to enable the device 100 to operate as will bedescribed in more detail below. Specifically, the device 100 isprogrammed with a predetermined minimum time threshold, a report sizeand a time interval. Each of these parameters can be programmed into thedevice 100 prior to installation of the device 100 within the vehicle101 or after installation and activation of the device 100 byover-the-air commands from the server 140 (i.e., transmission from theserver 140 to the device 100 using the GPRS protocol through a wirelesscarrier). In other words, at any time after installation of the device100 in the vehicle, the predetermined minimum time threshold, reportsize and time intervals can be changed as desired by an end user, suchas by the operator of the server 140 via the computer 142 as describedabove.

The predetermined minimum time threshold is the minimum amount of timethat the vehicle 100 must be in a parked state before the device 100will define that particular parked state within the device 100 as aparking instance. Once a particular parked state is defined as a parkinginstance, the device 100 will record and store parking information dataassociated with the parking instance in the memory 111 of the device100. More specifically, if the device 100 determines that the vehicle100 is in the parked state for an amount of time that is greater thanthe predetermined minimum time threshold, the device will store theparking information data which includes the geographic location of thevehicle 101, the duration that the vehicle 101 was in the parked stateand the date and time that the vehicle 101 initially came or enteredinto the parked state in the memory 111 of the device 100.

The minimum time threshold can be set in increments of one minute. Incertain embodiments, the minimum time threshold is set to be between oneand four hours, and more specifically between two and three hours.However, the invention is not to be limited by the actual time that theminimum time threshold is set to and it can be any period of time asdesired by the end user. As will be described, in detail below, theminimum time threshold is compared to a duration that the vehicle 101 isin the parked state to determine whether the parked state should bedefined within the device 100 as a parking instance and the parkinginformation data saved within the memory 111 of the device 100.

Referring now solely to FIG. 2, transmission of the parking informationdata from the server 140 to the database 160 for end user access will befurther described. After the parking information data is received by theserver 140, the server 140 breaks down the parking information datathrough multiple processes and highly engineered algorithms 150. Thesealgorithms 150 convert the parking information data into a format thatcan easily be read and manipulated by an end user. Thus, after theserver 140 breaks down the parking information data as described above,the parking information data is then transmitted to and stored within aspecialized table in the database 160 for end user access.

End users can view and manipulate the data in the database 160 via enduser computers 162 a-c via the Internet 161. The end users can be thefinancial or lending institutions that loaned the capital to the vehiclepurchaser so that the purchaser could initially purchase the vehicle 101or any other entity that desires to and has permission to track theparking behavior of the vehicle 101. As such, if the user defaults onthe loan by failing to make timely payments, the financial or lendinginstitution may desire to repossess the vehicle 101. The financial orlending institution can quickly determine probable locations of thevehicle 101 by viewing and manipulating the parking information data inthe database 160.

The end user can access the database 160 by logging in to a securewebsite via the Internet 161. Upon logging in, the end user will bepresented with a graphical user interface that enables them to choose aparticular vehicle for which parking information data is desired to beviewed. In other words, a particular end user (i.e., financial orlending institution) may loan money to many people to enable thosepeople to purchase a vehicle. Thus, the end user can use the database160 to view parking information data for any of these vehicles asnecessary depending upon which vehicle purchaser/owners are in defaultof their loans. The graphical user interface that an end user will viewupon selecting a particular vehicle will be described in more detailbelow with reference to FIGS. 5A-5C.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, operation of the device 100 will bedescribed in more detail in terms of a method of tracking the parkingbehavior of the vehicle 101. In operation, the device 100 monitorswhether the vehicle 101 is in a non-parked state or a parked state (step200) as has been described above. When the device 100 detects that thevehicle 101 is in the parked state (via the GPS module, the ignitioninput, monitoring the engine voltage or otherwise as described above),the timer 114 becomes automatically activated and begins counting (step201). Thus, the timer 114 keeps track of the duration or amount of timethat the vehicle 100 remains in the parked state. While the timer 114 isactivated, the device 100 continually detects whether the vehicleremains in the parked state (step 202), lithe device 100 determines thatthe vehicle 100 is still in the parked state, the timer 114 continues tocount (step 203). However, as soon as the vehicle 101 transitions fromthe parked state to the non-parked state, the timer 114 stops (step204). In certain embodiments, the timer 114 requires that the timer 114be deactivated and restarted. However, in certain other embodiments thetimer 114 is a continually running timer. In such embodiments,activation of the timer (step 201) is simply the instance at which thetimer 114 begins measuring the duration that the vehicle remains in theparked state and stopping the timer (step 204) is simply the instance atwhich the vehicle 101 transitions from the parked state to thenon-parked state.

After the timer 114 stops in step 204, the device 100 determines whetherthe duration that the vehicle 101 was in the parked state exceeds thepredetermined minimum time threshold (step 205). As discussed above, thepredetermined minimum time threshold is a predetermined and configurableparameter that is used as a threshold for determining whether a timeperiod that the vehicle 101 is in the parked state is sufficient to beconsidered a parking instance such that parking information datacorresponding to the parking instance should be stored in the memory 111of the device 100. If the device 100 determines that the vehicle 101 wasnot in the parked state for a duration that exceeds the predeterminedminimum time threshold, then the parking information data correspondingto that particular occurrence of the vehicle 101 being in the parkedstate is not stored in the memory 111 (i.e., that parking informationdata is discarded) (step 206). Alternatively, if the device 100determines that the vehicle 101 was in the parked state for a durationthat exceeds the predetermined minimum time threshold, then the parkinginformation data corresponding to that particular occurrence of thevehicle 101 being in the parked state is stored in the memory 111 of thedevice 100 as a parking instance (step 207).

In certain embodiments, prior to actually storing the parkinginformation data into the memory 111 of the device 100 as a parkinginstance, the device 100 conducts a check to determine if the memory 111is full. If the device 100 determines that the memory is full, thedevice 100 will purge out the parking information data corresponding tothe parking instance that has the shortest parking duration in order tocreate space in the memory 111 for the new parking instance.

To give an example of the device 100 in operation, the predeterminedminimum time threshold may be set at two hours. As soon as the vehicle101 goes from being in a non-parked state to a parked state, the timer114 will begin to count. If the vehicle 101 transitions back into anon-parked state prior to being in the parked state for two hours, noparking information data will be saved in the memory 111 of the device100 and the parking information data for that particular parkingoccurrence will be discarded. However, if the vehicle 101 is in theparked state for two hours or more, the parking information data (i.e.,the geographic location of the vehicle, the duration that the vehicle101 was in the parked state and the date and time that the vehicleinitially entered into the parked state) corresponding to thatparticular occurrence of the vehicle 101 being in the parked state willbe stored in the memory 111 of the device 100 as a parking instance. Thegeographic location of the vehicle 101 can be stored in the memory 111of the device 100 as a set of longitudinal and latitudinal coordinatesand/or as a particular street address.

As soon as the duration that the vehicle 101 is in the parked stateeclipses the two hour mark (or other predetermined minimum timethreshold), the parking information data is stored into the memory 111of the device 100. However, the duration will continue to increase untilthe vehicle 101 transitions into the non-parked state. Thus, the device100 will continue to store into the memory 111 the current duration thatthe vehicle 101 has been in the parked state until the vehicletransitions from the parked state into the non-parked state so that thefinal duration that the vehicle 101 is in the parked state is properlystored into memory 111. The device 100 repeats this process for eachoccurrence that the vehicle 101 transitions into the parked state for aperiod of time that exceeds the predetermined minimum time threshold andsaves each respective occurrence as a separate and distinctive parkinginstance. Thus, using each of the occurrences that the vehicle 101 isdetected in the parked state for a duration exceeding the predeterminedminimum time threshold, the device 100 builds a virtual table of parkinginformation data. Furthermore, the device 100 circuitry 130 organizesthe parking instances ordered by longest duration that the vehicle 101is in the parked state to shortest duration that the vehicle 101 is inthe parked state.

After the device 100 determines whether the duration that the vehicle 10was in the parked state exceeds the predetermined minimum time threshold(step 205) and decides to either store or not store/discard the parkinginformation data (steps 206 and 207) the device 100 will make adetermination as to whether the time interval has been reached (step208). As discussed above, the time interval is one of the threeparameters that can be programmed into the device 100 either prior to orafter installation of the device 100 in the vehicle 101. The timeinterval is the amount of time that elapses between transmissions of theparking information data stored in the memory 111 of the device 100 tothe server 140.

The time interval can be set at any increment, but is preferably set atincrements of one hour. In certain embodiments, a user will desire toset the time interval to be 24 hours in order to obtain parkinginformation data about a particular vehicle on a relatively frequent(i.e., daily) basis. A user (i.e., financial or lending institution) maydesire such a short time interval if the user believes that the vehiclepurchaser is likely to default on the loan. In certain otherembodiments, the user may set the time interval to be 168 hours suchthat the parking information data about a particular vehicle will betransmitted to the server on a weekly basis. Of course, it should beunderstood that the time interval can be set to be less than 24 hours,between 24 and 168 hours or more than 168 hours as desired. The usermust pay a fee or carrier charge each time that parking information datais transmitted from the device 100 to the server 140. Thus, maintaininga larger time interval between data transmissions will result in theuser saving money.

The memory 111 of the device 110 has a storage capacity of 2000 distinctparking events. Thus, the device 110 is capable of storing a largequantity of parking information data internally so that transmissions ofdata to the server 140 can be made less frequently. Upon the timeinterval being reached, the device 100 will transmit, in a singlemessage, the parking information data for all of the parking instancesthat the vehicle 101 was in the parked state for a duration thatexceeded the predetermined minimum time threshold and which was nottransmitted in a previous transmission.

If the device 100 determines that the time interval has not been reachedat step 208, the entire process will start over with the device 100again making a determination as to whether the vehicle 101 is in theparked state (step 200). However, if the device 100 determines that thetime interval has been reached at step 208, the parking information datastored in the memory 111 of the device 100 will be transmitted to theserver 140 (step 209) for further processing as discussed above. Afterstep 209 is complete, the process will again start over with the device100 making a determination as to whether the vehicle 101 is in theparked state (step 200).

Although the process has been described with the steps taking place in aparticular order, it should be understood that the device 100 is capableof performing multiple processes at a time. Thus, the device 100 isconstantly monitoring both whether the vehicle 101 is in a parked state(step 200) and whether the predetermined time interval has been reached(step 208). As such, if the predetermined time interval is reached atany time while the timer is activated or at any other time, the parkinginformation data will be transmitted to the server 140 at that time. Inother words, at any time that the predetermined time interval is reached(step 208), the parking information data stored in the memory 111 of thedevice 100 will be transmitted to the server 140. One example of this isillustrated in FIG. 4 where it is shown that if the device 100determines that the vehicle is not in the parked state, it goesimmediately to step 208 to determine if the predetermined time intervalhas been reached. Thus, step 208 is constantly being undertakenthroughout the process illustrated in FIG. 4.

Furthermore, in certain embodiments the time interval will be reachedwhile the vehicle 101 is in the parked state and the timer is activated.In certain embodiments, if the duration that the vehicle 101 has been ina current parked state has exceeded the minimum time threshold, theparking information data for that current parked state will betransmitted to the server 140 with the current duration as of the timethat the time interval was reached. Of course, in certain otherembodiments any parking information data for a current parked state ofthe vehicle 101 will not be transmitted to the server 140 during a datatransmission that occurs while the vehicle 101 is still in that currentparked state. Rather, in those other embodiments the parking informationdata for the current parked state will be transmitted to the server 140during a subsequent data transmission from the device 100 to the server140. Whether or not to transmit parking information data from a currentparked state of the vehicle 101 that is ongoing at the moment that thetime interval is reached can be configurable and chanted as desired byan end riser.

Referring to FIG. 3, a report 300 that is submitted to the server 140when the predetermined time interval is reached (step 208) will bedescribed in greater detail. The report 300 is a small data string thatis transmitted from the device 100 to the server 140 for furtherprocessing. It is important to note that the report size is a parameterthat defines the size of a message that is to be sent from the device100 to the server 140. The report size determines the number of parkinginstances that will be transmitted from the memory 111 of the device 100to the server 140 during a single transmission. If the report size issmaller than the number of parking instances that are saved in thememory 111 at the time of transmission of the parking information datafrom the device 100 to the server 140, the device 100 will omit theparking information data from the shortest duration stops in the report300. In other words, the device 100 will perform a smart selectionlocally and then transmit to the server 140 the parking information datafrom the most relevant/longest duration stops/parked state occurrences.This will assist the end user in obtaining parking information datarelated to the longest duration stops made by the vehicle 101 within thetime interval so that the end user can preferably determine thelocations that the vehicle 101 is parked for the longest periods of time(typically where the vehicle owner works and lives).

Once the report size and the number of parking locations to betransmitted have been determined, the report 300 is created. The report300 includes a report size reading 301 that indicates the number ofparking locations that are included in the report 300. The report 300also includes a time stamp 301 that indicates the date and time when thefirst parking occurrence that the vehicle 101 was parked for a durationlonger than the predetermined minimum time threshold started. Thisinformation can be transmitted in the date format DD/MM/YYYY(date/month/year) and the time format HH:MM (hours:minutes). Of course,other formats can be used. The report 300 also includes locationinformation 303 that indicates the latitude and longitude of thelocation that the vehicle was parked for the first parking occurrence.Of course, the location information 303 can also include a streetaddress of the location that the vehicle was parked for the firstparking occurrence. Finally, the report 300 includes a duration stamp304 indicating the duration that the vehicle 101 was parked for thefirst parking occurrence in minutes. The report 300 then also includesthe same information for the second, third, fourth and so on parkingoccurrences up until the number of parking occurrences/instances isequal to the report size reading 301.

As noted above, the report 300 that is transmitted sends the parkinginformation data in order from the longest duration stops to theshortest duration stops. As such, once the report size has been met orexceeded, the longest duration stops will have been compiled into thereport 300 and the shortest duration stops omitted from the report 300.In this manner, the end user is provided with the most relevant parkinginformation data for a particular vehicle.

In some circumstances, the vehicle owner/purchaser may attempt todisable the device 100 or remove the device 100 from the vehicle 101 inorder to prevent the financial or lending institution from tracking thelocation of the vehicle 101. Immediately upon the device 100 beingtampered with, an alert will be transmitted from the device 100 to theserver 140, and then on to the database 160. Furthermore, in case thefinancial or lending institution does not frequently monitor thedatabase 160, a tampering incident can result in the device 100transmitting an alert, either directly or indirectly via the server 140,in the form of a text message, an electronic mail communication, afacsimile, a telephone call or the like to the financial or lendinginstitution to inform them of the potential tampering incident. Thiswill enable the financial or lending institution to become immediatelyaware of a potential disabling or removal of the device 100 from thevehicle 101 so that the financial or lending institution can immediatelybegin the repossession process or otherwise contact the vehicleowner/purchaser to determine the accuracy of the tamper alert.

The device 100 is useful even if the device 100 has been disabled orremoved from the vehicle. Specifically, even if the device 100 issomehow disabled or removed from the vehicle, the historical data stillexists in the database 160 and can be used to determine the bestpossible location to retrieve the vehicle even if new information is notbeing received from the vehicle. The behavior of a vehicle rarelychanges that dramatically over time and having a historical record ofthe vehicle's parking behavior can enhance the ability to locate thatvehicle at a desired time.

After the report 300 is received by the server 140, the server 140processes the parking information data and configures it for use by anend user in the database 160. Thus, the server 140 breaks down theparking information data and then store it within the database 160 in amanner that can be viewed and manipulated by an end user. Referring toFIGS. 5A-5C, the graphical user interface 500 (hereinafter “GUI”)through which an end user will view and manipulate the parkinginformation data will be described in greater detail. FIGS. 5A-5C arescreen shots of the GUI 500 and they illustrate the parking informationdata for a particular vehicle over a particular time frame. Of course,it should be understood that the actual data provided in the GUI 500will change depending on the parking locations of the vehicle. FIGS.5A-5C are used only to describe how the information is presented on theGUI, and not for the particular information illustrated therein.

The GUI 500 presents the parking information data in a clickable piechart section 501, a data grid 502 and an interactive map 503. The piechart section 501 of the GUI 500 includes a duration icon 504, alocation icon 505, a time icon 506 and a pie chart 507 a-c. Clicking onthe duration, location or time icons 504, 505, 506 in the pie chartsection 501 results in the creation of the pie chart 507 a-c with theparking information data organized by duration, location or time.Furthermore, clicking on either the duration, location or time icons504, 505, 506 will organize the information in the data grid 502 byduration, location or time, respectively.

Referring first to FIG. 5A, the end user has clicked on the durationicon 504 in the pie chart section 501 and the information is organizedin the pie chart 507 a in terms of duration. Upon clicking on theduration icon 504, the pie chart 507 a will appear that informs the enduser how many instances the vehicle 101 was parked for 1-2 hours, 2-4hours, 4-6 hours, 6-10 hours or more than 10 hours, respectively.Furthermore, the data grid 502 will display all of the parkinginformation data details organized by duration with the longest durationof any single parking instance listed first.

The end user can then click on the portion of the pie chart 507 a thathe/she desires to focus on and view details about. Specifically, the enduser can click on the 4-6 hour portion of the pie chart to view detailedinformation about where and when the vehicle was parked for 4-6 hours orthe end user can click on the more than 10 hour portion of the pie chart507 a to view detailed information about where and when the vehicle wasparked for more than 10 hours.

Upon clicking on the pie chart 507 a, the information will be updated inthe data grid 502. Thus, if the user clicks the 6-10 hour block, on thepie chart 507 a as has been done in the exemplified embodiment, the datagrid 502 will present the parking information data only for theinstances that the vehicle 101 was parked for 6-10 hours. Specifically,the data grid 502 includes a date and time section 508 that lists thedate and time of day that the vehicle entered into the parked state fora particular parking occurrence, a day of the week section 509 thatlists the day of the week that the vehicle entered into the parked stateon that particular parking occurrence, a location section 510 that liststhe location where the vehicle 101 was parked on that particular parkingoccurrence, and a duration section 511 that lists the duration that thevehicle was parked on that particular parking occurrence. The locationsection 510 presents the locations where the vehicle 101 was parked asboth a longitude/latitude coordinate and a specific street address. Oncethe 6-10 hours block has been clicked on the pie chart 507 a, the enduser can then click the date/time, day, location or duration section508-511 tabs to further organize the parking information data accordingto those parameters. Thus, if the user clicks the date/time tab as hasbeen done in the exemplified embodiment, the parking information datafor all parking instances that had a duration of 6-10 hours will bepresented in date/time order (either from most recent date to leastrecent date or vice versa).

The data grid 502 also includes an arrow 514 that indicates how theparking information data is organized. In the exemplified embodiment,the arrow 514 is a downwardly pointing arrow in the date/time section508. Thus, in the exemplified embodiment, the parking information datais organized by date/time from the most recent date/time to the leastrecent date/time and then by duration with only parking information datafor those instances that the duration was between 6-10 hours listed. Ifthe date/time tab is clicked again, the arrow 514 will point upwards andwill list the information from the least recent date/time to the mostrecent date/time for those instances that the duration was between 6-10hours.

Furthermore, the end user can click on a particular entry on the datagrid 502, which will update the interactive map 503. Thus, if the enduser clicks on the first entry 513 in the data grid 502 as has been donein the exemplified embodiment, the interactive map 503 will show thelocation that was clicked on in a visual and interactive map. The usercan view the interactive map 503 in a satellite mode or a normal mapmode. Furthermore, the user can scroll north, south, east and west onthe interactive map 503 and the end user can zoom in and out on theinteractive map 503 to further analyze the area surrounding theparticular location associated with the first entry 513 in the data grid502. The user can click on any of the entries in the data grid 502 topull up that location on the interactive map 503.

Referring now to FIG. 5B, the parking information data is organized onthe GUI 500 by location. Thus, in FIG. 5B the end user has clicked onthe location icon 505 in the pie chart section 501 of the GUI 500. Uponclicking the location icon 505, the pie chart 507 b is updated to groupthe parking information data by location. The parking information datais grouped as a single parking location by the most common locationsthat exist within a specific radius of one another, not by a specificstreet address or longitude/latitude coordinate. In the exemplifiedembodiment, the parking information data is grouped together as a singleparking location if it is within a radius of approximately 200 to 400feet, more specifically within a radius of 250 to 350 feet, and morespecifically within a radius of 300 feet. Of course, the invention isnot to be so limited and the range within which the parking informationdata is grouped together as a single parking location can be more orless than that specified above in certain embodiments. Furthermore, thisrange can be configurable in the same manner that the predeterminedminimum time parameter is changed and configured as described above. Itis desirable to maintain a small range so that the end user can quicklydetermine where the device 100, and hence also the vehicle 101, islocated with a high level of confidence.

Upon clicking on the location icon 505 in the pie chart section 501, theinformation is displayed in the data grid 502 organized by location.Thus, the locations that are within a specified radius of one anotherwill be grouped together and listed in the data grid 502. Grouping theparking information data in this way enables the end user to determinerelative locations that the vehicle 101 is frequently parked at. Forexample, the vehicle owner/purchaser may live in an apartment and maypark at various locations around or near the apartment complex. Bygrouping the locations that are within a specified radius of oneanother, all of the parking locations that are around or near theapartment complex will be grouped together so that the end user candetermine the dates and times that the vehicle 101 is parked around ornear the apartment complex.

Upon clicking on the location icon 505, the parking information datawill be grouped by location as described above. Then, the end user canclick on the date/time, data location or duration tabs in order tofurther organize the parking information data in the data grid 502 asdescribed above with reference to FIG. 5A. In the exemplifiedembodiment, the information is grouped by location and displayed in thedata grid 502 by date and time. Of course, the user could click on theduration tab and organize the parking information data by location andthen by duration rather than date and time.

Finally, referring to FIG. 5C, the parking information data is presentedin the GUI in terms of time. Thus, in FIG. 5C the end user has clickedon the time icon 506 in the pie chart section 501 of the GUI 500. Uponclicking the time icon 506, the pie chart 507 c illustrates a clock andindicates what percentage of the parking information data occurredduring a particular time frame. In the exemplified embodiment, the clockis divided into quadrants and a percentage is given for the percent oftime that the vehicle 101 was parked between noon and 3 PM, the percentof time that the vehicle was parked between 3 PM and 6 PM, the percentof time that the vehicle was parked between 6 PM and 9 PM, and thepercent of time that the vehicle was parked between 9 PM and midnight.The clock can also be changed from PM to AM so that the same informationcan be provided for the midnight to noon time frame.

The end user can click on the quadrant of the clock that he/she desiresto focus in on for a particular time of day and to display the parkinginformation data in the data grid 502 for that particular time frameonly. Thus, in the exemplified embodiment the end user has clicked onthe noon to 3 PM time frame, and the data grid 502 has been updatedaccordingly. The data grid 502 illustrates the parking information datafor all parking instances that occurred between noon and 3 PM. In theexemplified embodiment, the parking information data is furtherorganized by date/time, but can alternatively be organized by duration,location or day as has been described above. Grouping the parkinginformation data by time presents the information by grouping theparking locations based on the time of day that the vehicle 101 firsttransitioned from a non-parked state to a parked state. This allows theend user to quickly gather the valid locations that the vehicle 101 islikely to be parked for a specific time of day. The end user can usethis information to repossess the vehicle 101 at the most likelylocations it will be found during a particular time of day. Repossessionagents typically charge a higher premium for repossessing a vehicle atnight. Enabling the end user to determine the most appropriate time andlocation to repossess the vehicle 101 during the day time hoursdramatically reduces the costs of repossession.

In certain embodiments, the device 100 can be used as a method ofpreventing fraud by a purchaser of a vehicle. When an individual desiresto purchase a vehicle and can not afford to pay for the vehicle in cash,the individual can finance the purchase with a loan from a financial orlending institution. If the financial or lending institution has anyreason to believe that the individual is providing fraudulentinformation in order to avoid later repossession of the vehicle upon adefault in repayment of the loan, the financial or lending institutioncan have the device 100 described above installed in the vehicle.Furthermore, when the device 100 is used for fraud prevention, thefinancial or lending institution must request and record theindividual's home and work addresses. The financial or lendinginstitution can then use the parking information data that is stored inthe device 100 to determine whether the home and work addresses providedby the purchaser are accurate.

In some embodiments, the home and work addresses of the purchaser can beprogrammed directly into the device 100 so that the device 100 cancompare the home and work addresses of the purchaser with locations thatthe purchaser parks the vehicle. However, in other embodiments thefinancial or lending institution can simply view the report 300 on theGUI 500 as described above and compare the parking locations that aretransmitted from the device 100 to the server 140 with the addressesprovided by the individual who purchased the vehicle.

Thus, the device 100 can operate as described above to track locationsthat the vehicle is parked or in a parked state for durations thatexceed a specific predetermined minimum time threshold, such as twohours. The device 100 can be configured with the necessary algorithms toenable the device 100 to then compare the locations that the vehicle isin a parked state for durations that exceed the specific predeterminedminimum time threshold with the home and work addresses provided by theindividual who purchased the vehicle.

It is highly probable that a vehicle purchaser will drive the vehicle tohis/her home or place of work within a short time frame after purchasingthe vehicle, especially if the purchase is not being made fraudulently.Thus, if after a specified period of time, such as one day or one weekor any other time period as desired, the vehicle within which the device100 is installed has not been in a parked state for a duration thatexceeds the specified predetermined minimum time threshold at a locationthat matches one of the addresses provided by the individual whopurchased the vehicle, the device 100 can alert the financial or lendinginstitution that the purchase may have been made fraudulently. In thismanner, the financial or lending institution will be able to quicklydetermine a potential fraudulent purchase and can then make attempts torepossess the vehicle in a quick and efficient manner.

In alternative embodiments where the device does not internally comparethe vehicle parked state locations with the purchaser's pre-providedaddresses, the device 100 will periodically transmit the parkinglocation information to the server 140, which is then stored in thedatabase 160 for end user viewing and manipulation as described above.Thus, the financial or lending institution can log on to the database160 as has been described above and compare the parking or parked statelocations with the pre-provided addresses. If no match between thepre-provided addresses and the parked state locations can be found aftera specified period of time, the financial or lending institution canmake attempts at repossessing the vehicle.

As used throughout, ranges are used as shorthand for describing each andevery value that is within the range. Any value within the range can beselected as the terminus of the range. In addition, all references citedherein are hereby incorporated by referenced in their entireties. In theevent of a conflict in a definition in the present disclosure and thatof a cited reference, the present disclosure controls.

While the invention has been described with respect to specific examplesincluding presently preferred modes of carrying out the invention, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that there are numerous variationsand permutations of the above described systems and techniques. It is tobe understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural andfunctional modifications may be made without departing from the scope ofthe present invention. Thus, the spirit and scope of the inventionshould be construed broadly as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for tracking parking behavior of avehicle, the apparatus comprising: a circuit located locally within thevehicle, the circuit comprising a processor, movement detection meansfor detecting whether the vehicle is in a parked state or a non-parkedstate, location identification means for identifying a geographiclocation of the vehicle, a memory, a transceiver, and a timer operablycoupled together; wherein for each occurrence in which the movementdetection means detects that the vehicle has entered into the parkedstate, the circuit is configured to: (1) measure a duration that thevehicle remains in the parked state; (2) identify the geographiclocation of the vehicle; (3) detect whether the vehicle transitions intothe non-parked state from the parked state; and (4) upon the durationexceeding a predetermined minimum time threshold without the vehicletransitioning into the non-parked state, store parking information datarelating to the occurrence in the memory as a parking instance.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein when the circuit detects that the vehicletransitions into the non-parked state from the parked state before theduration exceeds the predetermined minimum time threshold, the circuitdiscards the parking information data.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1wherein the parking information data comprises a date and time that thevehicle entered into the parked state, the duration that the vehicle wasin the parked state and the geographic location of the vehicle.
 4. Theapparatus of claim 3 wherein the circuit is further configured togenerate a virtual log of the parking information data for each parkinginstance organized by longest duration to shortest duration.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 3 wherein the geographic location of the vehicle isstored in the memory as at least one of a longitudinal and latitudinalcoordinate and a street address.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein themovement detection means comprises an ignition input, the ignition inputoperably connected to an ignition of the vehicle; and wherein theignition input detects that the vehicle is in the parked state bydetecting that the vehicle's ignition is tuned off.
 7. The apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein the movement detection means and the locationidentification means comprises a GPS module; and wherein the GPS moduledetects that the vehicle is in the parked state by monitoring a speedand location of the vehicle.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein thepredetermined minimum time threshold is configurable by an externalserver.
 9. A method of tracking parking behavior of a vehiclecomprising: a) recording an address associated with a person to whompossession of a vehicle has been provided, the vehicle being collateralfor a loan; b) detecting when the vehicle transitions between a parkedstate and a non-parked state, and measuring a time duration each timethe vehicle is detected to be in a parked state; c) for each of the timedurations that exceed a predetermined minimum time threshold, storingparking information data including a geographic location of the vehicleas a parking, instance; d) for a predetermined initial time periodsubsequent to the person taking possession of the vehicle, comparing thegeographic locations of the parking instances to the associated address;and e) upon determining that none of the geographic locations of theparking instances determined during the predetermined initial timeperiod correspond with the associated address, generating an alert. 10.The method of claim 9 wherein step a) comprises programming theassociated address into a database and wherein step c) comprises storingthe parking information data in a local memory located within thevehicle.
 11. The method of claim 10 further comprising: c-1)transmitting the parking information data from the local memory to aserver; and c-2) transmitting the parking information data from theserver to the database.
 12. The method of claim 11 wherein step d)comprises an end user manually comparing the geographic location of thevehicle with the associated address.
 13. The method of claim 11 whereinstep d) is performed automatically by a computer device.
 14. The methodof claim 9 further comprising transmitting the alert to a financial orlending institution, and wherein upon receiving the alert, the financialor lending institution repossessing the vehicle.
 15. The method of claim9 wherein the predetermined initial time period is one day or one week.16. A method of tracking parking behavior of a vehicle comprising: a)recording an address associated with a person to whom possession of avehicle has been provided, the vehicle being collateral for a loan; b)subsequent to the person taking possession of the vehicle, detectingwhether the vehicle has entered into a parked state; c) for eachinstance that the vehicle has entered into the parked state, measuring atime duration that the vehicle remains in the parked state withouttransitioning into a non-parked state; d) for each of the time durationsthat exceeds a predetermined minimum time threshold, storing parkinginformation data including a geographic location of the vehicle; e)comparing each of the geographic locations of the vehicle stored in stepd) with the associated address; and wherein at least one of steps a)through e) is carried out by a computer device.
 17. The method of claim16 wherein step d) further comprises: d-1) storing the parkinginformation data in a local memory located within the vehicle; d-2)transmitting the parking information data from the local memory to aserver; and d-3) transmitting the parking information data from theserver to a database for access by an end user.
 18. The method of claim17 wherein step e) comprises the end user manually comparing thegeographic location of the vehicle with the associated address.
 19. Themethod of claim 16 wherein step a) comprises programming the associatedaddress into the computer device and step g) is performed automaticallyby the computer device.
 20. The method of claim 16 further comprising:comparing each of the stored geographic locations with the associatedaddress for a predetermined initial time period subsequent to the persontaking possession of the vehicle; and generating an alert if, afterexpiration of the predetermined initial time period, none of thegeographic locations are located within a predetermined distance fromthe associated address.